A year and a half later and We’re All Gonna Die Season 2 has officially launched on CraveTV. Being a part of a team and reflecting on all the work that went into the final product are some of my favourite and most rewarding parts of this job. The fact that I get to MAKE FILMS… for a living? Is a privilege and honour that never fails to awe and inspire me.
I had the pleasure of joining the team behind the film THE BOY IN THE WOODS this year with editor Robert Swartz, CCE.
We are SO thrilled and delighted and grateful to the Canadian Academy for honouring WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE (EVEN JAY BARUCHEL) with four Screen Awards:
A put-upon worker snaps out of her passive path thanks to a chance encounter with a charismatic busker…
From Nostradamus to the Book of Revelations, we are a species obsessed with our potential extinction. We're perpetually paranoid about cataclysmic events, and yet we're still here—for now. Jay Baruchel dives into our collective fears to dispel (or in some cases verify) the hype and calculate the odds of apocalyptic events, from nuclear Armageddon to a massive asteroid impact.
This past summer, I made a pledge to up my anti and get into scripted content. I took a course a year before at LIFT for Web Series writing. I have written any number of pilot scripts - some which have never seen the light and others that are still in development. I thought tackling the world of short-form writing was a good way for me to stay connected to one story and didn’t tax me too much with my full time job.
Having read the reviews before watching the production on stage, I realized I was preparing myself for all those moments the critics reported: silences, the feelings of loss, frustrating unrealized potential, the perfect play for millennial misfits, etc. What I didn't expect was the tears. I was barely able to clap and woot at the end, so much was I chocking on emotions that Annie Baker brought out through sparse dialogue.
What a way to end the Hot Docs Filmmakers Series with Brett Story. Linda Barnard, as majestic as always, led the discussion on our final week together. Director of LAND OF DESTINY and A PRISON IN 12 LANDSCAPES. Brett Story. Where do I begin? Brett proves that hard work, determination, and willpower are enough to produce the awe-inspiring and lyrical documentaries that she has been able to create in such a short period of time.
Hot Docs, you are spoiling me WAY too much. Patricia Rozema - Alethea Arnaquq-Baril - Christina Jennings - and now Rama Rau!
Rama directed THE REHTEAH PARSONS STORY, MARKET, and most recently LEAGUE OF EXOTIQUE DANCERS.
A friend of mine pointed me in the direction to a new and amazing filmmakers series at Hot Docs. She was most excited to see Patricia Rozema, and I instantly signed up - feeling her excitement and mine grow! The series is moderated by Linda Barnard, a journalist / writer who previously championed another series focusing on gender.
One of the many people I got to spend time with at TIFF 2015 this year was a woman named Angela Barnhardt Thomas.
Angela Barnhardt Thomas and Me at TIFF 2015
She is the producer of Waiting for Mamu (2013), a doc that travelled world wide to raise money for Mamu's school.
Social issues docs have the power to educate, demystify, and bring awareness to an otherwise ignorant viewer. This doc has since successfully raised over 1 million dollars.
This is the power of cinema! And it is achievable when hard working / passionate people like Angela are a part of the team.
Being fairly new to the industry and using TIFF as a platform to meet with established film professionals, I was blown away at how approachable and knowledgable Angela was. Not only did she patiently answer all my questions, but she even made script suggestions and helped me understand the industry better.
It was a true pleasure attending TIFF programming with her and we were able to discuss a variety of topics on break. Angela and I also talked about her current project, a doc about Charles James, and I am so thrilled to see that subject bloom into a feature length video.
Click HERE for more info from the MET exhibit from 2014.
Sometimes it is about these chance meetings in life that really provide us the support and inspiration we need to be successful. And it is the people we surround ourselves with that help us define who we are and where we are headed.
I am happy to call Angela a friend and look forward to future meetings together. NYC here I come!
- Jenn
Today I was looking through my subscriptions online, TIFF / MUFF / DOC / WIFT / CCE / Criterion Collection. I love getting e-newsletters.
In the MUFF letter, particularly, I came across an article in The Times, about Women Directors.
The article was laid out beautifully, with portrait photography on a clean white backdrop of many Hollywood directors who are indeed women. The writing is clear, concise, and positive. It is not about condemning society or men for that matter, it is about recognizing the gap and bridging it through discussion, recognition, and change. We have to be the change to see the change!
Here is my favourite part:
"Leslye Headland is a 34-year-old writer and director who was in the same 2012 Sundance class as Trevorrow, with the movie version of her scorching Off Broadway play, ‘‘Bachelorette.’’ She bristles with ambition to do everything he is doing. Sitting in a red leather banquette at the Monkey Bar in New York, Headland told me she wants to be a Martin Scorsese, and ‘‘not just the female Martin Scorsese.’’ She wants to direct a James Bond movie, ‘‘even if I have to marry someone to get British citizenship.’’ She wants to make films in which women behave badly and are not held to a higher moral standard or seen as ‘‘less than.’’ She wants to look cool in magazine pictures so that ‘‘little girls will put female filmmakers on their Pinterest boards.’’ (Maureen Dowd, Nov. 20th, 2015, NY Times Magazine)
Can you imagine a society where a women in a power position is COOL. Man, I am on cloud 9 right now just thinking about it.
I shall end this with shock value, here re the blaring stats:
"In both 2013 and 2014, women were only 1.9 percent of the directors for the 100 top-grossing films. Excluding their art-house divisions, the six major studios released only three movies last year with a female director." (Maureen Dowd, Nov. 20th, 2015, NY Times Magazine)
Let's start championing directors equally. Not because they are men and not because they are women. But equally. By talent. Then we are levelling the playing field and creating a society that values success over gender. Film for thought!
- Jenn
This past Thursday I attended a panel discussion at The Gladstone Hotel. Hosted by the CCE, with the DGC and CFC as friendly supporters, this event invited five talented women on stage for a discussion about women in post-production roles. Here is the panel
The moderator for the evening, Marla, has 20 years experience in the industry. She is a passionate woman who lead an interesting and evoking conversation about success in the post-production world.
"If you want to get something different, you have to do something different" - Marla
Each women in the panel came from a different background, but agreed on several topics of interest. The first was that early on in your career, there is a large amount of luck that plays into knowing people and having the confidence to put yourself forward for work.
"Getting a job is a campaign" - laughed Gillian.
She waited two months to hear back from Temple Street Productions before she was asked to be an editor on Orphan Black.
Sandy discussed the merits of starting at the bottom. Most of the women in the panel created short films in school and PA'd on set before they settled into their role. All agreed how important mentorship is and how difficult it is sometimes as a women to find someone who "hires" women. Gillian finds this very backwards as she believes the greater the diversity in the editing room, therefore the better the work.
"I hate wasted potential" - Gillian
No one should be judged for their gender, age, sexual orientation, or culture.
"I hate wasted potential" - Gillian.
Susan was adamant that people should be judged based on their skill and to refrain from marketing yourself as a good "female" editor. You are an editor. As soon as we point out our gender, it is easier for the world to point it out too.
"Work hard, be creative, smart, and you will overcome obstacles" - Susan.
Marla brought up some alarming stats in Canada, wherein 17% of the film industry are female editors, 4% cinematographers, and 25% producers. Yet women make up 50% of the population.
Another point of discussion was surround assistant editing vs. editing. Everyone was quick to agree that assistant editors play an ENORMOUS role in the editing room. Michele particularly said she always has an assistant editor helping her edit the docs. You can't do it by yourself. You need a team to bounce ideas off of to create a fluid and organic storyline. Question each other and the storyline to strengthen it.
"a documentary editor is the filmmaker in the editing room" - Michele.
Editors in the DOC industry have greater creative input.
The conversation ended by talking about possible ways to get more women involved in post. Jane mentioned that when the industry switched over to digital, more young males who were computer savvy jumped on board, leaving women far behind and not trained for the new landscape. Jane regrets that she knows so few women sound designers and mixers.
Women in Post | CCE | The Gladstone Hotel | Toronto | 2015
Women in Post | CCE | The Gladstone Hotel | Toronto | 2015
Michele and Gillian both suggested that you make obstacles work for you. If you are interested in having a family, but are worried about the hours and time commitments post-production requires, you confidently set your hours with the producer. Explain why you need to be home between 5-8 every night and that you are willing to return to the editing room after you have settled with your family. This creates a standard system that others can understand and makes your life, career, and family happy by eliminating stress of always missing out on the personal side of life.
"What people really want from an editor is a point of view" - Sandy.
"No one will take your career as seriously as you will. [Prove your] tenacity and staying power" - Gillian.
If there are more women in higher positions, then more women feel confident applying to positions underneath and more women are inevitably hired. It is a cycle that needs to be standardized without making it obvious that it is a gender thing. All people deserve equal opportunity.
Michele ended the discussion powerfully by saying, "talk loudly. Take our space" as creators and post production experts in the film industry.
Truly a passionate and inspiring discussion!
Back to the cutting room for me,
- Jenn
The theatre is a unique space. It plays out in real time, without editing or cutting to improve the narrative flow. Stuff can happen (Murphy's law), and you have to role with the punches.
The world can feel so large and yet so small at times. Here's what I mean. One of my favourite English professors from undergrad met up with a fellow classmate in Ottawa for a seminar talk. They conversed and he mentioned his daughter's and her partner's theatre company, Coal Mine Theatre, and their need to build a website before the new 2015 / 2016 season. And presto, through fate and good fortune, my name got thrown into the mix and I got to go on an amazing journey with Diana Bentley and Ted Dykstra this past summer.
Working with two graphic designers, Catherine Erkinger and Kostis Pedritis, the three of us constructed and fashioned a website that is simple, easy to navigate, and rich in colour.
What is Coal Mine Theatre? It is a company that produces off-off broadway plays. Very indie, with large name actors occupying intimate spaces and creating an experience like no other for the audience.
"If you sit in the front row of the Coal Mine’s tiny theatre, a storefront venue on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue, you’ll get a close-up view of Ferry as he nimbly beheads and eviscerates a glistening silver trout while an instrumental version of Cole Porter’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin plays wryly in the background." - The Globe and Mail
The 2015 / 2016 theatre season is comprised of four plays: The River, The Winter's Tale, Killer Joe, and Instructions (to any future socialist government proposing to abolish Christmas).
The 2015 / 2016 season at Coal Mine Theatre
I watched "The River" (Jez Butterworth) this past weekend and I was mesmerized. My partner and I were struck with the mystique, the open ended plot, the brilliant stage direction (ahem Ted Dykstra) and the intense emotion evoked by each actor on stage.
"Butterworth’s style easily moves between mundane exchanges and a heightened poetic prose." - Stage Door
Post City captures "the man" (David Ferry) in the narrative hauntingly beautiful, showcasing the intricate and detailed set design and the uncomfortable and open ended story.
Truly a work that will haunt me moving forward. I canno wait for the rest of the season.
This is an experience like no other!
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